Israel`s 40, And It`s A Bash Jewish Nation Frolics, Dances In The Streets

April 21, 1988|By RENEE KRAUSE, Staff Writer

JERUSALEM -- They danced the Hora on Jaffa Street to the beat of The Who.

They sprayed each other in the face with shaving cream on King George Street. And they bopped strangers` heads with plastic hammers on every street.

It was party time in Jerusalem.

Seemingly everyone in the Israeli capital came out to honor, in 1980s style, the nation`s 40th birthday, which began at sunset Wednesday.

The country that was greeted by its neighbors 40 years ago with attacks from all sides takes its festivities very seriously.

Thousands of people jammed into downtown, turning the streets that are usually quiet by 7 p.m. into the sites of celebrations until early-morning hours.

``Independence Day is a happy day for all Israelis`,`` said Doron Tal, 24.

Despite the 4-month-old riots that continued on Wednesday in the Israeli- occupied territories, many Israelis said they had plenty to celebrate.

``It`s a happy day,`` said Eli Atias, 25. ``Times are good and times are bad, but we`re here 40 years and that means everything.``

Atias and Tal said they planned to spend the night partying as their parents did in the early years of nationhood. ``Everybody`s out. And will stay out until we can`t any longer,`` Atias said.

Earlier in the evening, Israel Defense Forces marked the close of Remembrance Day for the nearly 17,000 soldiers who have died in the country`s wars, and officially started Independence Day with pomp and passion.

Members of every division of the Defense Forces marched near the tomb of Theodor Herzl. Herzl, called the prophet of the Jewish state, was the father of Zionism.

He died in 1904, 44 years before his hopes became a reality.

Twelve people lit torches representing the tribes of Israel. Forty soldiers marched with flags, one for each year of Israel`s existence.

The finale was a 10-minute fireworks display that lit the cloudy sky with blue, white and red bursts that were seen miles away in the valley below.

In a stadium near Tel Aviv, the Israel Defense Forces performed for thousands who got tickets to see the show of force that was held yearly in parade fashion on city streets until 1968.

At the Great Synogogue, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said that Israel exists today in spite of the odds. He said the soldiers should be proud of themselves for protecting the country. ``Their work today is as important as it has been throughout our history,`` Shamir said.

As soon as the prime minister and his bodyguards left, the congregation began singing and dancing. A high school choir sang patriotic songs and led the mostly elderly crowd in a hora that snaked between the dinner tables.

On the streets, strangers danced with strangers. No one seemed to avoid the teens armed with shaving cream.

Everywhere one looked, one saw the white foam in everyone`s hair, on their clothes and on their faces, as if the revelers were ready for a shave.

A police officer riding in a van for prisoners tapped his right knee with a plastic hammer. A soldier riding in the rear of a jeep sang patriotic songs as he headed through the throngs on Jaffa Street after midnight.

Florence and Mort Krasner, of Cleveland and who are sailing around the world, said they had come to Israel to join in the festivities.

``We left our sailboat in Split, Yugoslavia,`` Florence Krasner said. ``We were so close, we decided to come for the holiday. It`s wonderful. I don`t see a sad face in the crowd.``

Betsy Bagerman, of Springfield, Mass., said she came to Israel with the United Jewish Appeal. ``We came to feel a oneness, a bond with the people of Israel,`` she said.

``Forty years means we have another 4,000 years of celebrating yet to do,`` Bagerman said. ``There`s only one said thing about this trip. There aren`t enough American Jews here.``

Tourism is down by 17 percent over the last two months because of the riots in the territories, the Israel Bureau of Statistics reported. Usually, April and May are the busiest and most lucrative months for Israel.

Still, people partied.

Throughout the country, celebrations similar to those in Jerusalem were going on. Cities put up stages for local singers and disc jockeys.

Teens, who get a day off from school, were out on the streets far into the night in large groups. Parents took younger children and kept them out past their normal bedtimes.

At 12:30 a.m. the Melamed family was heading home after an evening of dancing and singing together. All six wore smiles, including Revital, 7, the youngest and obviously most tired.

``It`s a holiday, so it`s not too late for anyone,`` said Avner Melamed, the father of four who was born in Palestine two years before it became Israel. ``We are very happy.``